1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a one piece self expiring security badge, label, ticket and pass. More particularly, this invention is directed to a one-piece self-expiring security badge or label that is thin and flexible wherein the badges or labels can easily pass through a laser or thermal printer, and can be easily stored in a roller form. Additionally, this invention relates to an improved construction of a color changing time label which enables a computer printer to print and activate the time label before issuing from the printer.
2. Related Art
Self-expiring security badges or labels have as their core technology a chemical color-changing process that can be easily activated at a specific time. Security badges are only one of the many applications for such technology. Generally, such products are useful because the color changing process is easily activated and after a predetermined period of time has passed and the color changing process is completed, they cannot be used again. Such products have found wide acceptance due primarily to their ‘ease of use’. Such technologies are described in the prior art Haas, Holt and Pedicano patents listed herein and are incorporated herein by reference.
Generally, such color changing process is activated by overlaying and adhesively bonding two substrates to each other. Prior to activation the substrates are kept separate. Typically, the top or exposed substrate is an adhesive label and the bottom substrate has a migrating ink or dye on or within its face. When bonded together, the adhesive from the top label dissolves the dye in the migrating ink, causing it to bleed (diffuse) ‘through’ the top label at a controlled rate. After a predetermined period of time, the dye-colored image is displayed through the front of the top material and can be seen by those viewing the badge or label. Such badge or label is thus expired, i.e., “self expired” and cannot be used again.
Generally, such known self-expiring badges and labels are initially in two separate pieces, i.e., the top adhesive label and bottom dye or ink containing substrate, and are assembled at the time of issuance, i.e., activation. Because the two substrates are dry materials, they have very long shelf-lives, making these products very commercially practical. However, where there is a high volume of badges or labels issued by, for example, receptionists and security guards the two part construction proves to be inconvenient and labor intensive. There is a need for a simpler badge or label that requires less labor to activate.
Several preassembled constructions have been developed, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,470 to Pedicano et al. In this type constructions, the top substrate and bottom substrate are joined together with a paper liner interleaved between the adhesive on the top substrate and the bottom substrate containing the migrating ink. When the security badge is issued, the issuer separates the two parts by lifting the top substrate and pealing away the interleaving paper liner from the top substrate. This exposes the adhesive underlying the top substrate so that when the two parts are pressed together the top substrate adhesively bonds to the bottom substrate activating the color changing process, i.e., dissolving the migrating ink. This preassembled construction is simpler and more convenient to use, i.e., it is “user friendly.” Such preassembled badges or labels also minimize one of the primary weaknesses of the two part constructions which is the failure of a receptionist or security guard to activate the product when it is issued. This is a common occurrence with badges or labels that come in two separate parts, generally because the receptionist or security guard is untrained or careless in distributing and activating such badges or labels.
However, such preassembled badges or labels as exemplified by Pedicano, have several technical problems. First, such preassembled security badges or labels as well as the two piece badges or labels each have a waste liner that needs to be removed and disposed of. If, for example, there are a large number of visitors to a facility, such waste liners can be a substantial nuisance and housekeeping problem, particularly if not disposed of properly. The liners typically have a silicone coating on one side, are slippery and collect static electricity, causing collection problems. Second, such preassembled badges or labels are stiff and rigid because they are constructed from multiple ply layers. For example, a two piece pre-activated badge or label has a top adhesive substrate with three layers, a face stock layer, an adhesive layer and a liner, while the preassembled construction badge or label consists of five layers: a face stock, an adhesive layer, a removable liner barrier, a bottom-substrate face stock, and a bottom-substrate liner. In order to store such badges or labels, they need to be fan folded. Fan folded badges or labels typically lays in stacks about 2-3 inches high and are folded every two or three badges or labels. This requires that the stacks of badges or labels be outside the computer printer and occupy substantial desk space. Since most security badges are issued from a small receptionist desk in the lobby where surface area is at a premium, it is important to employ security badge printers and badge supplies that have as small a footprint as possible. If the fan folded badges or labels were folded every four badges or labels, they stack of badges or labels would be 12 inches long, protruding from the rear of the thermal printer. This is inconvenient and impractical.
The applicant is aware of the following prior art (U.S. patents):
3,520,124 to Myers4,408,557 to Bradley et al4,903,254 to Haas5,058,088 to Haas et al5,446,705 to Haas et al5,602,804 to Haas5,633,835 to Haas et al5,633,836 to Langer et al5,667,303 to Arens5,699,326 Haas et al5,715,215 to Haas et al5,719,828 to Haas et al5,822,280 to Haas5,930,206 to Haas et al5,974,003 to Pedicano et al6,270,122 to Shadle6,295,252 to Holt et al6,452,873 to Holt et al6,641,691 to Shadle et al6,741,523 to Bommarito6,752,430 to Holt et al6,916,130 to Holt et al
Still further, time labels which change color by a dye diffusion color changing mechanism were first invented in 1980. They have been successfully used for one-time-use security badges and non-reusable indicators of various sorts for many years. In every commercially product, the time label is activated to start the time controlled color changing process by manually applying a self-adhesive front label (front part) onto a back portion label (back part) that is printed with a molecular dye based migrating ink. Upon contact of the pressure sensitive adhesive with the migrating ink, the dye from the ink diffuses into the adhesive to cause the color change. Based on the adhesive composition and the particular dye, the color of the front part label changes to show expiration.
Even though the time labels may be computer printed by many types of computer printers, such as ink jet, direct thermal, thermal transfer, etc, the printed label is manually removed directly from the computer or from a roll of previously printed labels and activated by hand in order to begin the color-changing process. This manual issuing of security badges and/or time labels is a major problem for users. There are a number of benefits for having a printer automatically activate the time label before issuing. There are even more benefits to have an unmanned kiosk in a lobby (facility) or unmanned printer issued activated time labels direct to the end-user. Previous attempts to perform this automatic time label activation have failed.
Previous attempts to produce a printer-activated-time-label system failed because of the relative complexity of the printers. Also, different chemical activation mechanism have been attempted, but none of them have become commercial products. To the best of Applicant's knowledge, the only time labels in use are of the dye diffusion type activated by adhesive contact with the migrating ink dye.
For example, for a system which uses two different labels combining in the printer itself, two label streams are needed and it is difficult to apply a front label onto a back label because of alignment problems, removing the front label from its liner and applying it to the back part label, training users to reload the printer and removing jams within the printer.
Another possible technique is to create a multiple layer time label that is heated to initiate the color changing process. This active chemical process or thermal barrier process where a chemical barrier is breached by heating at the time of activation, appears to be difficult to produce without pin holes in the barrier layers and to control the dye diffusion elements.
Another process may be to produce a time label with micro-encapsulated elements that are initiated by mechanical crushing in the printer by passing the time labels through crushing rollers. This process requires the development of very stable encapsulated materials that are resistant to environmental heat and storage.
Another process may be to produce a multilayer thermal transfer ribbon which initiates the color changing process upon heat transfer of the materials. This process would also require the development of a printable time label in order to be printed as well as receive the color changing materials from the thermal ribbon. One can conceive of a variety of thermal ribbon coatings and combinations of chemicals which can be transferred to a label substrate in order to produce a color changing process.
Still another mechanism would be to employ a liquid activator which is applied to the time labels as they pass through the printing device. Applying the liquid would initiate the movement of the dyes through the opaque white barrier hiding the colored dyes so that the expiring image will be produced on the face of the time label.
None of these systems appears to have been practical.
Because of the technical difficulties and complicated constructions of all these chemical and multiple part mechanical schemes, none of them have proved practical for commercial products. The current invention has overcome all these difficulties by employing a single piece label structure exactly like standard paper labels and standard direct thermal computer printable labels which have a simple construction and have been well proven to be practical. The activation mechanism is by a simple mechanical rearrangement of the label components during or after printing the label with a computer printer. Hence, this simple mechanical rearrangement requires only simple mechanical components in a printing device.